General Sir William Waller | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Cornelius Johnson, c. 1643 | |
| Member of Parliament for Middlesex | |
| In office 1660–1660 | |
| Member of Parliament for Andover | |
| In office 1640 – 1648 (suspended) | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1598 Knole House, Kent, England |
| Died | 19 September 1668 (aged 69–70) Osterley Park, London, England |
| Resting place | Westminster Chapel |
| Spouse(s) | (1) Jane Reynell (1622–1633) (2) Anne Finch (1638–1652) (3) Anne Harcourt (1652–1661) |
| Relations | Edmund Waller (1606–1687) Sir Hardress Waller (1604–1666) |
| Children | (1) Margaret (1633–1694); (2) William (1639–1699) |
| Parent(s) | Sir Thomas and Lady Margaret Waller |
| Education | Magdalen Hall, Oxford |
| Occupation | Soldier and politician |
| Military service | |
| Years of service | 1617 to 1621, 1642 to 1645 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Battles/wars | |
Sir William Waller JP (c. 1598 – 19 September 1668) was an English soldier and politician, who commanded Parliamentarian armies during the First English Civil War. Elected MP for Andover to the Long Parliament in 1640, Waller relinquished his military positions under the Self-denying Ordinance in 1645. Although deeply religious and a devout Puritan, he belonged to the moderate Presbyterian faction, who opposed the involvement of the New Model Army in politics post 1646. As a result, he was one of the Eleven Members excluded by the army in July 1647, then again by Pride's Purge in December 1648 for refusing to support the Trial of Charles I, and his subsequent execution in January 1649.
Arrested several times during the British Interregnum, in the run-up to the Stuart Restoration in 1660, he was elected to the Convention Parliament. He retired from politics when it was dissolved, and died at his home in Osterley Park in September 1668. Waller was one of many who served in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms with great reluctance, but did so based on deeply held religious or political principles. He is perhaps best remembered by a letter written in 1643 to his close friend and Royalist opponent, Sir Ralph Hopton.
That great God who is the searcher of my heart knows with what a sad sense I go upon this service, and with what a perfect hatred I detest this war without an enemy;... We are both upon the stage and must act such parts as are assigned us in this tragedy, let us do it in a way of honour, and without personal animosities.[1]
- ^ Waller 1793, pp. xiii–xiv.